THE BRUCK
The Bruck, a custom-designed bus-truck, has a unique place in the history of Whitefish and of the Great Northern Railway, an important presence in the life of the town.
Because the Empire Builder and Western Star passenger trains stopped in Whitefish, passengers from Kalispell, 15 miles to the south, had to be transported to and from Whitefish... a trip originally made on a short-line, gas-electric tram known as the Galloping Goose. In 1960, after 46 years of operation, the Galloping Goose was abandoned for economic reasons.
A GN passenger bus and mail-express trucks provided service between the two towns for a short time. Then the railroad replaced them with the Bruck, built to GN specifications by the Kenworth Motor Truck Co. of Seattle. The "tastefully furnished" 39-foot vehicle had room for 21 passengers and their baggage, as well as a spacious freight and baggage compartment in the rear. It boasted a 220-horsepower engine and a 10-speed transmission. The floor was the same height as a railroad car, for ease of loading and unloading. Operating on the highway rather than on the circuitous rail line, the Bruck saved time and money.
The Bruck, painted in GN's familiar orange and green averaged six round trips daily, starting on July 17, 1951 and covering the route for more than 20 years. Times changed, however, and Amtrak, federalized passenger service, retired the Bruck in 1972 The vehicle ended up in the railroad's maintenance department.
Its glory days over, the Bruck languished for years in a salvage yard in Great Falls... until a Michigan couple, Larry and Connie Hoffman, happened to notice it there while attending a meeting of the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. Larry, a railroad buff, set out to buy the Bruck, but he died before the purchase could be made.
In 1999, Connie bought the derelict Bruck and donated it to the Stumptown Historical Society, which went to work to restore it. After hundreds of hours of volunteer work and an expenditure of about $20,000, the refurbished Bruck, with authentic paint and fittings, is home to stay... a memorial not only to Larry Hoffman but to the colorful story of the railroad in Whitefish.
Sponsored by the
Stumptown Historical Society and the Whitefish Community Foundation
From the plaque at the Bruck